Sleepless Night
by Rui
Summary: Ranma can't get the thought of Ryouga and Akane out of his head!


Sleepless Night 

Sleepless Night By: Rui rictorstar@aol.com

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ranma.

Author's note: this is a WAFF fic. I love this type of fic, if you don't like it, then don't read it! If you like it than YEAH!! I'm not the only one! ^_^ enjoy!!! THIS IS BEFORE THE "MARRY ME, AKANE" EPISODE. 

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It was only a dream---more like a nightmare. Over and over again the images of those three little boys running around their father's feet laughing and playing without a care in the world haunted him. And then the memory of her smiling face, and bright, lively eyes looking at the children so lovingly. And then the way she'd stared up at her husband... 

Ranma shook his head, and slid the back door open. It was only a dream. Akane wasn't twenty-seven with three little boys and Ryouga wasn't married to her. No one was. She was still *his* fiancee. Padding his way to the dojo under the protection of the catwalk, he grumbled to see the lights on in the building already. 

But what didn't upset him was the person sitting in the middle of the wooden floor, with her eyes glued to the shrine hanging upon the opposite wall of the door. Ranma stepped in silently, and with almost painful slowness, he shut and latched the door. Not that he was being a pervert, mind you, just in case Nabiki or their dads decided to ease drop or take pictures. 

Padding noiselessly to the center of the dojo, the boy plopped down next to his fiancee and smirked at her surprised gasp. 

"R-Ranma." Akane stuttered, trying to calm her racing heart. How long had he been there?! 

"Yo, Akane." Ranma turned to her, still with the smirk. "Whatcha doin' up so late?" 

Turning away from him and directing her attention to her ten small toes, Akane only shrugged. Ranma beside her, stretched out his legs, and propped himself up on his arms, staring up at the shrine. 

"I couldn't sleep." She admitted, shrugging again. "What about you?" 

"Had another sick disgusting dream." Ranma shuddered at the memory of Ryouga's arm wrapped around Akane's waist. 

"Really? What about?" She pestered. Whenever he had a dream that involved her, Akane noticed, Ranma would start to blush a deep crimson. One of the perks of living with a person for so long was knowing their uncontrollable facial expressions. 

"Oh, uh," The tattle tale blush began to creep across his cheeks. "Just about some people." 

A moment passed in silence, "Say Akane," the pigtailed boy began. 

"Yeah?" 

"I wanna ask you somethin', just promise you won't get mad." Ranma side glanced at her. 

A small frown lined her lips, and her brown eyes were closed in what he mused as concentration. 

"Go ahead." Akane tried not to smirk or smile, she knew she only got mad when their 'personal' moments were invaded or ruined, but he didn't need to know that. 

"Promise you won't get mad?" Ranma prodded. 

"Just go ahead and ask the question!" 

"Okay okay, geez," Pulling his knees up to his chest, his fingers found various pieces of dirt to fiddle with. "I was kinda wondering what you thought of-" a thought popped into his mind, "P-chan?" 

"P-chan?" Akane repeated. 

"Is he here?" 

"No, I haven't seen him in over three weeks." She confessed, then glared over at Ranma, "You didn't do anything with him did you Ranma?" She snarled his name. 

"No! No! I was just wondering if he was here! Seeing as last time we met like this he attacked me." Ranma thanked God when he saw Akane accept the answer and return to her passive mood. 

"Is that the question? What do I think about P-chan?" 

"No, I was going to ask, uhm, what do you think about Ryouga?" 

The youngest Tendo didn't expect that. She blinked back the surprise, and whipped her head around to look at the fidgeting young man. He was cute when he was being shy, Akane reflected, letting her mouth form a small smile. Was Ranma jealous? 

"In what way?" 

"Uh, I guess, would you ever consider marryinghim." Perhaps, Ranma gambled, it wouldn't sound as dumb if he rushed out the main part of the worry. 

Marry him? Ryouga? Had Ranma lost it? Akane tilted her head to the side in question, seeing that her fiancé wasn't going to be looking her direction any time soon she shrugged and pondered a while before answering. 

"Why should I have to think about that? I'm engaged to you, remember?" 

"I know, but I mean, if we weren't---and he asked, would you?" Ranma glanced at the girl, who stared back at him mutely. 

"Why wouldn't we be? 'Cause you chose Shampoo or Ukyou?" Tears started to brim at the bottom of her eyes at the very image of Ranma running off with either of those two. 

"No!" the boy protested, slapping the ground between them with his opened hand. "I'm just saying, if he asked you, would you?" 

Akane's frown pulled deeper, "My dad says I'm engaged to _you_, Ranma." 

Shaking his head, Ranma sighed and tried the line of questions again. "I know you don't like being stuck with me, Akane. I was just wondering if it would be the same if you were engaged to Ryouga." 

"Is that how you see it? That I'm stuck with you? Does that mean you're stuck with me? Well sorry!" Akane jumped to her feet, Ranma quickly followed the suit. "It wasn't my idea! I never asked to be engaged to you! I never---" 

"Dummy! Then why didn't you ever break it off for good?!" Ranma shouted back. By this time, they were both on their feet, fists balled at each side of their bodies and leaning in toward one another. 

"Is that what you want?" She cried, the tears no longer being able to be detained started to trickle down her face. Her fighting spirit quickly flowing out on the warm paths of salty water. 

She was crying! This isn't what he wanted! Ranma suddenly stepped out of the verbal abuse stance and watched as Akane did the same, her shoulders slumped foreword and her face facing the planks of wood underneath them. 

Everything in her body told her to run. Sure the man across from her could catch her no problem, but he never chased after *her*. Akane attempted to sniffle back the tears but met with no success. 

How did this always happen? One moment they would be getting along, sometimes confiding in each other, and then in a blink of an eye the fighting would begin. Ranma watched as Akane's tears slowed. He maybe would never understand why he couldn't make her happy. What he would do for her just to look at him and bless him with her smile. It was the first thing Ranma could clearly remember about their first meeting. It was also the first step taken into lov---liking her. 

"No." Ranma whispered lightly. 

"No, what Ranma?" Akane replied in equally as hushed and perhaps tired tone. 

"I don't want to---that is, Geez Akane, couldn't you have just answer a 'what if' question?" His words gained volume as each one crossed over his lips. 

She looked up briefly, making eye contact with the young man for a moment. Her strength was depleted from the lateness of the hour, and the thinking she had been doing, to look into his steel blue eyes and *not* get lost in them was something Akane couldn't do. Ranma's eyes didn't lie to her like his mouth did; they couldn't cover up certain things that flowed through their depths when she caught him looking at her. Or the rare times when they'd been so close to kissing, the way they'd lock on her eyes and display the want and hope along with the fear. 

"I-I don't know." She stammered in a hushed voice and in a lower tone added, "I don't ever want to find out either." 

His heart skipped a beat at that statement, as a relieved sigh escaped his lips. 

"Why do you ask?" Akane questioned after the tension wore down a bit, "Was that what your dream was about?" She gave her best sly look at the suddenly nervous pigtailed martial artist. 

"Uh, well, maybe." He started to scratch the back of his neck. Ranma always did that when he didn't want to tell the truth, or found the moment somewhat embarrassing. 

"It was wasn't it, Ranma?" Akane stepped closer, her arms behind her as she leaned in closer, a 'I-know-the-truth' smirk upon her face. 

Ranma saw this, and related the look to a hungry c-c-cat. The way her brown eyes narrowed delightfully upon their prey as he stuttered and grasped for an explanation but the truth. 

"It's not like that!" Ranma protested, waving his hands in front of him. "It was just---you know-weird!" 

"You can't be afraid of losing me are you?" Akane pushed, watching the mouse cower further into its mental corner. She *loved* to see Ranma sweat it out. 

"Come on Akane, quiet joking around." 

"Why? I want to know what your dream was!" She teased, again, stepping closer. "What was so weird about it?" 

"No way! I ain't tellin' you nothin' about it." 

Akane let a small frown creep across her face, before an idea popped into her head. Ranma might be a great strategist, but she could sometimes manipulate him to her will. "It's not like you've actually endeared yourself to me in any way." She replied flippantly, crossing her arms against her chest. 

"What do you mean by that?" Saotoma yawned, and settled back down on the floor. 

"You're more promised to Kuno and Shampoo than you are to me." Glancing down, the fish had defiantly taken the bait as a slight anger flickered in his gorgeous eyes. 

"WHAT?!" 

"You've at least kissed them." She shot back. 

"Listen, how many times do I have ta tell you, it don't count if you use tape!" Ranma hollered his defense, watching as Akane turned her back to him. 

She had to hide the triumphant smirk spread from ear to ear. "And what about Shampoo?" 

"That don't count either!" 

"And why not?" 

"Because! I didn't kiss back!" If he had the strength, Ranma'd stood up and resumed his fighting stance. But his muscles slightly ached from the odd training his father had put him through earlier. 

Akane's smirk dead lined. She knew he wanted to, even if he didn't. One would have to have been blind not to see the want in his eyes as she did that day Shampoo had called him her husband. Although something had stopped him, it still hurt to know he wanted the other girl. But still, there had been one time where Ranma'd kissed back. 

At the production of Romeo and Juliet, through the duct tape, she felt him press his lips gently against hers. It didn't count though, and the Tendo girl wanted one that counted for once, something to rub in the other girl's faces. And to finally be kissed by the man she lov---was engaged to. 

"You probably don't know how to kiss back. That's probably the only thing that stopped you." 

When Akane got on her high horse, she super glued herself to the saddle! After years of training to know how to read an opponent's tensions, and reflexes, Ranma saw her shoulders square up for a few seconds before her last remark. It didn't matter by what tactic she had done it by, the Tendo girl effectively hit the older boy's pride. 

In a breath, Ranma had jumped into a crouching position, then, while balancing on his left foot, swiped his right leg into Akane's causing her to lose balance and tip over backwards. She tried to regain balance but fell to her shins, and back---right into Ranma's arms. This turned into a peculiar pose for both of them. 

During her fall, the martial artist male had shifted till he sat on his lower legs. One arm was under her shoulders, keeping the girl from contacting the floor with her head, while the other was draped across her stomach. Their faces mere inches from each other. 

Akane felt his breath trickle across the exposed flesh on her neck. Her hands were clasped together in front of her and lay dumbly on her chest. 

That's when the eyes made contact. 

Steal blue locked on the deep dark brown. His mouth went dry while her breath was trapped securely in her throat. Shifting to a more comfortable position, Ranma held her closer, waiting for the interruptions that always seemed to come up when ever he had the nerve, and she allowed him this close without threat of angry pig pet or mallet heading his way. 

Sure of the upcoming disturbance, Ranma slowly moved his head towards the captured girl's. She tensed under his fingertips as he brushed stray blue strands of hair from her questioning eyes. 

Akane was in almost pure panic! Ranma was coming closer to her, more importantly his lips were only an inch or two away from hers! True, she'd coned him into to it, and true she could have guessed the way he was going to act, but where was the other truth? Where was Nabiki, Kuno, Ryoga, Happosia, or any of the other typical distraught players when this was going to happen?! 

"Akane..." Ranma whispered, moving closer to his fiancee. Oh man, what on earth would he do if she started to scream or punch now? There would be no way the martial artist would ever nurse a blow to his heart like that. But, all the fear of rejection melted away as he felt her warm hands on the sides of his face. The only doubt left if what they were so close to doing, would ruin their relationship..? 

Ranma had to stifle a snort at the thought. Ruin what relationship? The delicate nature of him saying something stupid and her pulling out that magic mallet and hitting sense into him? Well, he was willing to risk that! 

And so... 

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Fun story. ^_^ No flames, just pure WAFF that I dreamt up a LONG time ago!


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